1) In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Wedding Band. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
Wedding Band is set in the summer of 1918 by the sea of South Carolina where in the first scene we are introduced to the
characters of Mattie, Fanny, Lula, Julia, Teeta, Nelson, and the Bellman. The visual setting starts off in the afternoon in the backyard
where three distinct houses are next door to each other. Fannie is the woman in charge of the unit, Julia resides in the house on stage
left, and Mattie and Lulu resides on stage right. The opening scene depicts Lula trying to find her lost quarter for her mother Mattie,
and from there a dialogue between Julia and Fanny. It is first known the characters have a neighborly relationship where the women
are acquaintances for they are developing a relationship and have not had a history.
We then later uncover Lulu’s significant story of her marriage and motherhood and a little about Julia’s family, Fannie’s history of
the property, and Mattie’s occupation. The dramatic situation that the women have are the problems that rise when it comes to their
color of skin, social status as black women in South Carolina, and the men they have in their life. Fannie, a rare women of her time,
owns a business but suffers the racial consequences of name-calling by white men, Julia, being involved with a white man, has to
endure the shame of being involved with the man of her choice because the color of her skin. And overall the accepted sexual
harassment by a white man, the bellman, who has the entitled status of being able to easily provoke a colored women since they are of
lower class of this time.
2) hat is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? NOTE: Arguments might be made for several different points where stasis is broken. Be prepared to defend your point of view, if different from other students. The intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken is the revelation that Julia was involved with a white man. From the beginning, there was overall shock and change of opinion of white men from simply listening to Julia’s story. Before the revelation, Mattie talks about how white men in general where narrowed-nosed and ruthless slave masters. On top of that a change of opinion about the white man happens when Herman is of German descent, a shamed upon race at the time, relates to Julia as she lives it in the play.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? The play is set in this particular time because its right in the heart of WWI and Americans at this time are high of patriotism. And the color of the white, American skin (excluding Irish nor German) is the top of the social chain and the South is harsh on the blacks of this time. It is also significant because in the north it’s not nearly as bad. As Julia and Herman celebrate their ten-year anniversary, they plan to move to New York to hopefully get married and escape the prejudice that happen in the South. This raises the stakes for the actors versus any other time in American history.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The dramatic question that must be answered in the plat is whether Julia moves up north with Herman? Will Herman die? And will Julia and Herman get married?
5. Use Julia to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual or individuals, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles in the play. Julia ultimately wants peace in her life and choose whatever she wants without any conflict from her social circle and the people she may have to encounter either up north or in the south. Julia wants to marry Herman and not worry about the social consequences of marrying a white man so moving to the north to her might work, but then Herman falls ill and the life of Herman is what concerns Julia the most. But the main factors that come into play are the discomfort of Herman’s family not accepting her.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Wedding Band.
The most theatrical moments in this play are: the revelation of Julia’s partner, when Herman is sick with influenza, the revelation of needing to contact Herman’s sister and mother, when Herman’s sister and mother first come to visit, The fight that Julia has with both Herman’s mother and his sister, and the giving away of northern tickets and wedding band to Mattie.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Wedding Band. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”) One image that is representation of the title “Wedding Band” is the physical necklace with a ring that Julia receives as an anniversary present. The 2nd image is the quarter in the very beginning of the scene of the play, and the 3rd image is the sign of racist remarks that Herman picks up when we first see the dialogue of Julia and Herman. The title of the plat helps us to understand the love story of Julia and Herman indicated by the word “Wedding”. We are excepted to see times of difficulty when we see the word “Band” meaning the struggles of maintaining the love when money and race come into play. A band, to me, symbolizes a never ending endpoint. So in this play Julia’s and Herman’s relationship is tested when their heritage is brought up. A band is also the same shape as a quarter, meaning that a quarter is worth a lot of money in this town reveling a socio-economic condition in the play. The poster of racism is considered the obstacle Herman battles with in terms of maintain the “band” of love; “wedding”.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Wedding Band. The themes that are introduced in the play are: Love comes in all shapes, sizes, color no matter what time period may be, and no matter who that person is or where they come from. The character of someone is derived from an action one takes and not so much the words someone speaks. The mistakes of one’s past do not define the person, they mold and create the person they have become and make then wiser in life to pass on to others. Wealth of a man should never be the first thing one looks for in man, for it is an illusion to a life of happiness.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Wedding Band? Perhaps you might argue for several different kinds of family in this particular play. What do you think? What family has to offer in “Wedding Band is the bond and responsibilities of being there for one another in times of need no matter the condition or social situation may be in place. It is clear that families conflict and families love, they are dynamic and flawed in this play. Intentions are pure but reasoning is off. The family I am mainly referring to is Herman’s.
.
1) In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Wedding Band. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
Wedding Band is set in the summer of 1918 by the sea of South Carolina where in the first scene we are introduced to the
characters of Mattie, Fanny, Lula, Julia, Teeta, Nelson, and the Bellman. The visual setting starts off in the afternoon in the backyard
where three distinct houses are next door to each other. Fannie is the woman in charge of the unit, Julia resides in the house on stage
left, and Mattie and Lulu resides on stage right. The opening scene depicts Lula trying to find her lost quarter for her mother Mattie,
and from there a dialogue between Julia and Fanny. It is first known the characters have a neighborly relationship where the women
are acquaintances for they are developing a relationship and have not had a history.
We then later uncover Lulu’s significant story of her marriage and motherhood and a little about Julia’s family, Fannie’s history of
the property, and Mattie’s occupation. The dramatic situation that the women have are the problems that rise when it comes to their
color of skin, social status as black women in South Carolina, and the men they have in their life. Fannie, a rare women of her time,
owns a business but suffers the racial consequences of name-calling by white men, Julia, being involved with a white man, has to
endure the shame of being involved with the man of her choice because the color of her skin. And overall the accepted sexual
harassment by a white man, the bellman, who has the entitled status of being able to easily provoke a colored women since they are of
lower class of this time.
2) hat is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? NOTE: Arguments might be made for several different points where stasis is broken. Be prepared to defend your point of view, if different from other students.
The intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken is the revelation that Julia was involved with a white man. From the beginning, there was overall shock and change of opinion of white men from simply listening to Julia’s story. Before the revelation, Mattie talks about how white men in general where narrowed-nosed and ruthless slave masters. On top of that a change of opinion about the white man happens when Herman is of German descent, a shamed upon race at the time, relates to Julia as she lives it in the play.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The play is set in this particular time because its right in the heart of WWI and Americans at this time are high of patriotism. And the color of the white, American skin (excluding Irish nor German) is the top of the social chain and the South is harsh on the blacks of this time. It is also significant because in the north it’s not nearly as bad. As Julia and Herman celebrate their ten-year anniversary, they plan to move to New York to hopefully get married and escape the prejudice that happen in the South. This raises the stakes for the actors versus any other time in American history.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The dramatic question that must be answered in the plat is whether Julia moves up north with Herman? Will Herman die? And will Julia and Herman get married?
5. Use Julia to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual or individuals, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles in the play.
Julia ultimately wants peace in her life and choose whatever she wants without any conflict from her social circle and the people she may have to encounter either up north or in the south. Julia wants to marry Herman and not worry about the social consequences of marrying a white man so moving to the north to her might work, but then Herman falls ill and the life of Herman is what concerns Julia the most. But the main factors that come into play are the discomfort of Herman’s family not accepting her.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Wedding Band.
The most theatrical moments in this play are: the revelation of Julia’s partner, when Herman is sick with influenza, the revelation of needing to contact Herman’s sister and mother, when Herman’s sister and mother first come to visit, The fight that Julia has with both Herman’s mother and his sister, and the giving away of northern tickets and wedding band to Mattie.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Wedding Band. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
One image that is representation of the title “Wedding Band” is the physical necklace with a ring that Julia receives as an anniversary present. The 2nd image is the quarter in the very beginning of the scene of the play, and the 3rd image is the sign of racist remarks that Herman picks up when we first see the dialogue of Julia and Herman. The title of the plat helps us to understand the love story of Julia and Herman indicated by the word “Wedding”. We are excepted to see times of difficulty when we see the word “Band” meaning the struggles of maintaining the love when money and race come into play. A band, to me, symbolizes a never ending endpoint. So in this play Julia’s and Herman’s relationship is tested when their heritage is brought up. A band is also the same shape as a quarter, meaning that a quarter is worth a lot of money in this town reveling a socio-economic condition in the play. The poster of racism is considered the obstacle Herman battles with in terms of maintain the “band” of love; “wedding”.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Wedding Band.
The themes that are introduced in the play are: Love comes in all shapes, sizes, color no matter what time period may be, and no matter who that person is or where they come from. The character of someone is derived from an action one takes and not so much the words someone speaks. The mistakes of one’s past do not define the person, they mold and create the person they have become and make then wiser in life to pass on to others. Wealth of a man should never be the first thing one looks for in man, for it is an illusion to a life of happiness.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Wedding Band? Perhaps you might argue for several different kinds of family in this particular play. What do you think?
What family has to offer in “Wedding Band is the bond and responsibilities of being there for one another in times of need no matter the condition or social situation may be in place. It is clear that families conflict and families love, they are dynamic and flawed in this play. Intentions are pure but reasoning is off. The family I am mainly referring to is Herman’s.